In 1993, AB 13 banned smoking in most workplaces. A temporary exemption to this ban was granted to bars, taverns, and gaming clubs. This exemption expires on January 1, 1997 unless the Federal OSHA or Cal/OSHA programs pass a standard regulating employee exposure to tobacco smoke in such places of employment. AB 3037 extends this exemption one year, to January 1, 1998.

Bill
Number

Author

Chapter
Number

Subject

SB 987

Polanco

96-664

Stage and Set Construction

Current law requires the constructor of any edifice over 36 feet high to obtain a permit to do sofrom Cal/OSHA. SB 987 exempts the construction or demolition of motion picture, television, and theater sets over 36 feet high from this permit requirement. However, any employer, after January 1, 2000, with a total of 3 or more serious injuries or violations related to the construction or demolition of stages or sets in a calendar year shall be required to obtain an annual permit to continue the construction or demolition of stages or sets.

Bill
Number

Author

Chapter
Number

Subject

SB 1486

Calderon

96-989

Asbestos Consultants

SB 1486 provides that certification as an asbestos consultant is not required when a licensed contractor or registered asbestos abatement contractor meeting certain training requirements takes bulk samples of suspected material (containing asbestos) for the purpose of bid preparation for asbestos abatement, evaluating exposure to its own employees during construction or asbestos abatement, or determining for its own purposes or for the purpose of communicating whether or not a contract for asbestos abatement has been satisfactorily completed.

Bill
Number

Author

Chapter
Number

Subject

SB 1486

Calderon

96-989

Asbestos Consultants

Existing law requires the Department of Health Services (DHS), in coordination with the Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH), to review and analyze existing information on medical devices that place health care workers at risk of exposure to bloodborne diseases. In addition, DHS is required to test the use of safety enhanced medical devices at health facilities. SB 2005 requires every general acute care hospital and home health agency to develop and implement a program to clarify existing requirements for the documentation and risk reduction of injuries caused by "sharps" such as needles. The bill also requires DHS, in coordination with DOSH, to conduct a 3-year pilot sharps injury surveillance study.

AB 81 provides that any person who induces or attempts to induce another person to work for below minimum wage, to work in unsafe or unlawful working conditions, or to purchase food, housing, transportation, clothing, tools, or any item for use in the workplace by threatening to report the person as an undocumented alien or threatening to have the person deported, is guilty of a misdemeanor.

Governor's Veto Message:

"This bill would add a new crime to the penal code protecting illegal aliens or those presumed illegal from threats designed to induce them to work for below minimum wage, to work in unsafe or unlawful working conditions...In addition, the bill creates a special cause of action for illegal aliens or those presumed illegal based on the same facts.

Each of these prohibited acts is already prohibited, criminal, and subject to penalties often greater than those required under the bill. 'Obtaining money by threatening to accuse victim of a crime constitutes extortion regardless of whether victim has actually committed any crime.' (People v. Goldstein (1948) 48 CA2d 581.)

Proponents assert that this bill addresses the problem of worker enslavement.

Penal Code Section 181 criminalizes involuntary servitude and sale of slaves and provides in part that every person who holds or attempts to hold any person in involuntary servitude is guilty of a felony punishable by 2, 3, or 4 years in prison.

By creating a new misdemeanor with the elements of two existing felonies, this bill appears to provide that if a person commits acts constituting extortion or involuntary servitude, but the victim is an illegal alien a penalty of one year is sufficient...it also creates the illusion that reporting illegal aliens is wrong and possibly criminal. This would be unfortunate as it could have a chilling effect on appropriate enforcement of immigration laws, and could undermine the intent of Proposition 187... All persons should be free from civil and criminal victimization while in California. The penalty should be no different if the victim is a California resident, a visitor from another state or nation, a convict, a citizen, or an illegal alien."

Bill
Number

Author

Chapter
Number

Subject

AB 1987

Miller

96-857

Athlete Agents

Under current law, the Labor Commissioner is charged with registering athlete agents. AB 1987 eliminates the Labor Commissioner's jurisdiction over the registration and oversight of athlete agents. Instead, the bill requires athlete agents to provide security for claims against them by maintaining an insurance policy or keeping sufficient funds in trust, in accordance with Corporations Code Section 15052. AB 1987 also provides that student athletes and the schools they attend have the right to sue athlete agents for misconduct which causes the student athlete to lose his or her academic eligibility or results in the loss of funds to the school.

Bill
Number

Author

Chapter
Number

Subject

AB 1987

Gallegos

96-R1

El Monte Sewing Shops

In 1995, DIR was tipped off to a suspected sweatshop in El Monte. Within weeks of receiving the tip, DIR led a raid of the suspected sweatshop. Investigators found dozens of underpaid employees working in slavelike conditions. AJR 44 memorializes the U.S. Department of Labor and the U.S. Department of Justice to conduct a comprehensive investigation of the events that led to the sewing shop raid in El Monte. The investigation is to be coordinated with specified state and federal agencies, including DIR

Bill
Number

Author

Chapter
Number

Subject

SB 238

Haynes

96-1160

Deferred Compensation Plans

SB 238 requires any public or private employer that offers its employees a non-self directed deferred compensation plan to provide each employee, prior to enrollment in the plan, written notice pertaining to potential financial risks, historical information relating to the performance of the investments under the plan, and the employer's recent financial condition. The bill also requires an employer who directly manages the investments of a deferred compensation plan to provide within 30 days after the end of each quarter, a written report summarizing the current financial condition of the employer and the actual performance of the employee's invested funds.

Bill
Number

Author

Chapter
Number

Subject

SB 691

Hayden

96-17

School Employees

SB 691 increases the maximum fine against an employee of a school district who fails to report to specified law enforcement agencies the attack, assault, or menace by a pupil of that employee or any person under that employee's supervision from a maximum of $200 to a maximum of $1,000.

Bill
Number

Author

Chapter
Number

Subject

SB 909

Polanco

VETOED

Apprenticeship

Currently, DIR, through its Division of Apprenticeship Standards (DAS), encourages and regulates apprenticeship programs throughout the state. SB 909 requires the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, in coordination with DIR, specified state agencies, and employer and labor groups, to support apprenticeship programs and to establish an internship program for those occupations not covered by an apprenticeship program. For these purposes, the bill creates the Apprenticeship Training Fund.

Governor's Veto Message:

"This bill would require the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges to establish curriculum standards and implement new internship and apprenticeship programs for new industry sectors.

While internship and apprenticeship models for workforce training may be effectively applied to new industry sectors, this cannot be implemented without significant additional General Fund resources. Implementation at the local college level would be required for prospective new programs which have not yet been identified and for which local resources do not exist. Because this bill requires implementation 'to the extent sufficient resources exist', the Chancellor's Office requirements would be permissive

This bill is unnecessary. There is no existing law preventing the development of the envisioned new programs. If new programs are identified, they should be requested through the annual budget process."

Bill
Number

Author

Chapter
Number

Subject

SB 1112

Polanco

96-619

Garment Manufacturers

The Labor Commissioner is currently required to register all persons wishing to do business in California as a garment manufacturer. SB 1112 requires the Labor Commissioner to notify registrants for a garment manufacturer's certificate in writing, and provide an application and instruction for renewal, at least 90 days prior to expiration of registration. Furthermore, the bill authorizes the Labor Commissioner to grant a 90-day extension of registration to an applicant for renewal of registration under specified conditions.

Bill
Number

Author

Chapter
Number

Subject

SB 1988

Thompson

96-117

Minors: Packing Plants

Current law limits the number of hours that 16 and 17 year olds may work to no more than eight a day and forty-eight per week. However, with the approval of the Labor Commissioner, 16 and 17 year olds employed in agricultural packing plants may work up to 10 hours on any non-school day during the peak harvest season. SB 1988 provides that, until January 1, 1999, 16 and 17 year olds in Lake County who are employed in agricultural packing plants may work more than 48 hours, but no more than 60, in any one week upon written approval of the Lake County Board of Education. The bill is intended to benefit the pear packing industry in Lake County during peak packing seasons.

Under existing law, tuberculosis is included within the definition of "injury" for the purpose of worker's compensation when the disease develops or manifests itself during service as specified law enforcement occupations. AB 521 extends this provision to prison and jail guards and correctional officers employed by a public agency.

Bill
Number

Author

Chapter
Number

Subject

AB 1002

Burton

96-26

WC: Acupuncturists

AB 1002 extends the repeal of the sunset provision which defines acupuncturists as "physicians" for the purposes of treating injured employees entitled to workers' compensation medical benefits from January 1, 1997 to January

Bill
Number

Author

Chapter
Number

Subject

AB 1650

Morissey

96-1005

WC: Notice to Injured Workers

AB 1650 gives self-insured employers and insurers the option of issuing a warning notice to injured workers who are receiving temporary disability benefits that states "Acceptance of employment with a different employer that requires the performance of activities that you have stated that you cannot perform because of the injury for which you are receiving temporary disability benefits could constitute fraud and could result in criminal prosecution."

Bill
Number

Author

Chapter
Number

Subject

AB 1859

V. Brown

96-14

Administrative Regulations

AB 1859 repeals the Division of Workers' Compensation's exemption from provisions of the Administrative Procedures Act relating to the adoption, review, and approval of regulations.

Bill
Number

Author

Chapter
Number

Subject

AB 3355

Firestone

96-331

WC: Contractors

AB 3355 provides that the filing of a false statement by an applicant or licensee to the Contractors' State License Board relative to the need to obtain workers' compensation coverage shall constitute cause for disciplinary action.

AB 116 provides that no state or local agency shall be required to prepare and submit any written report to the Legislature or the Governor until October 1, 1999, unless it is among a list of specified reports or under specified conditions. DIR reports still required to be submitted include the DWC and DOSH annual reports, and the Director's report to the Legislature.

Bill
Number

Author

Chapter
Number

Subject

AB 2458

Figueroa

96-818

Reports to the Legislature

AB 2458 provides that reports required by law to be submitted to members of the Legislature shall instead be submitted to the Legislative Counsel, the Secretary of the Senate, and the Chief Clerk of the Assembly. The bill also requires that each report include a summary of its contents, a copy of which would be provided to each member of the appropriate house of the Legislature by the Legislative Counsel.

Bill
Number

Author

Chapter
Number

Subject

SB 323

Kopp

VETOED

California Public Records Act

SB 323 amends the California Public Records Act by: (1) Expanding the definition of "local agency" and "writing"; (2) Defining "public agency"; (3) Requiring that, upon a request for a copy of a public record, a determination must be made within ten days whether or not the requested records are disclosable; (4) Providing that public agencies shall determine the form in which computer data is to be provided to requesters; (5) Requiring public agencies to identify the provision of law on which a decision to withhold a record is based; and (6) Providing that if an agency determines to withhold a requested record based on the public interest, the agency shall state, in writing, the public interest in nondisclosure.

Governor's Veto Message:

"This bill would provide that if an agency decides to withhold any record based on statute or public interest, the agency must identify in writing the statute or public interest served by nondisclosure of the record

SB 323 adds to the obligations of governmental agencies which are already under the heavy burden of responding to Public Records Act requests. Under current law, an agency must determine, within 10 days of any request for a copy of agency records, whether to comply with the request and must state the reasons for declining to do so. This bill would require that where the agency decides to withhold the record under Section 6255, it specify the public interest in undisclosure as well as state the public interest in disclosure

Governmental agencies receive hundreds of Public Records Act requests every month. They are most often not from ordinary citizens, but from political candidates and special interest groups searching for information. Government employees spend thousands of hours each year responding to the requests - many broad and unfocused - at the cost of doing their other responsibilities

This bill imposes an additional and unreasonable burden on record-keeping...It is... [an] additional bureaucratic burden that provides no commensurate benefit to the public to justify the time and tax money that would have to be expended to comply with the requirement."

Bill
Number

Author

Chapter
Number

Subject

SB 1507

Petris

96-928

State Agencies: Records

Existing law requires state agencies to maintain a file with specified documents related to the adoption, amendment, and repeal of a regulation. This rulemaking file must be made available to the public. SB 1507 prohibits an agency from removing, altering, destroying, or otherwise disposing of any item contained in a rulemaking file not sent to the State Archives. SB 1507 also allows agencies to send rulemaking files to the State Archives for storage.